


What's a Girl Supposed to Do?

by soyforramen



Series: Leslie Gore [2]
Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 19:50:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soyforramen/pseuds/soyforramen
Summary: Betty's been avoiding her for weeks, and Veronica is determined to find out why.  With a little digging, she's certain she's found the answer.  Only once again, she's missed the point entirely.





	What's a Girl Supposed to Do?

For weeks now, Betty Cooper had been missing in Veronica Lodge’s life. If this had been anyone else, Veronica would have put it down to growing apart. She was, after all, no stranger to lost friendships and broken hearts. It was a fact of life, and if someone was no longer in her life, que sera sera.

But this was Betty. Her other half. Veronica’s best friend, practically since birth. They finished each other’s sentences, shared clothing, laughed and cried and fought and made up again time after time. Betty was her soulmate in so many ways. Growing apart wasn’t supposed to happen to them. 

And all because of a boy? Veronica refused to let something so simple come between them. So she decided to do what she did best. Meet the situation head on, analyze all the possibilities, and refuse to take no for an answer.

That was how she found herself tracking Betty through the hallways of Riverdale High long after class had let out. Betty was missing from her usual haunts, the Blue & Gold room, the cafeteria, homeroom. It wasn’t until Veronica though to check the library that she finally found Betty, her head bent over a book as the late afternoon light illuminated just how long it had been since anything in this school had been dusted.

If she’d been more inclined, Veronica might have allowed herself to take note of Betty’s parted lips, her soft eyes, the curve of her neck. Of how the light made gold out of her hay colored hair. 

Instead Veronica stormed over to where Betty sat, the click of her kitten heels loud in the quiet.

“Are you avoiding me?”

Two tables over, Dilton shushed her. Veronica turned her back to him and ignored his dirty look. 

Betty’s eyebrows drew together over the question, her lips pursed in a frown. The look overall was fit to grace the cover of a fashion magazine, one seemingly perfected from Mary Jane Russell herself. 

“Why would you think I was avoiding you?” Her voice was soft, so dissonant from Veronica’s own sharp tone. 

Veronica huffed and crossed her arms. Really, to have to explain herself. “Because you haven’t called for weeks. You don’t sit at my table, instead you spend your lunch with those -“

“Some people are trying to research the scientific breakthroughs of our time,” Dilton snapped behind her. “I realize some of us don’t understand how revolutionary the space age is, but I and the rest of the library patrons would appreciate it if you’d take your gossip and fashion chatter elsewhere.” 

Veronica rolled her arms. If Dilton thought his little science projects were more important than the decline of one of the most iconic friendships of the Twentieth Century he really was a pencil neck. “Drop dead twice,” she muttered. 

Betty sent him an apologetic smile, clearly not understanding the magnitude of the situation. “Sorry, Dilt. We’ll take it outside.”

“Thank you.” His voice was terse and far too uptight to come from a highschooler in the prime of his life. Veronica wondered whether it was his lifelong goal to become a younger version of Charles Van Doren.

Veronica lead the way out of the room, head held high, while Betty trailed after her. When the library door closed behind them, Veronica spun on her heel, ready for another of their infamous fights. A fight that would be a cathartic release of all the ugly feelings they’d been bottling up for weeks, only to end the day at Pop’s with milkshakes and a shared basket of fries.

She’d expected Betty to be angry and upset. To b hurt by Veronica finally getting the upper hand in catching, and keeping, Archie’s attention. Based on all observations and past experiences, Betty should have been absolutely frosted by the couple going steady, whereupon Veronica would dump Archie and suggest to him, strongly, that she’d gotten bored and ultimately he was a better fit for Betty. Veronica expected the same cycle they’d been trapped in since they were playing in the sandbox, the same cycle they’d continue until graduation.

That’s how things had worked between them in the past. That’s how things were supposed to work. 

But the Betty standing in front of her now was calm, clear-eyed, and more than a little confused. 

Never one to lose the thread of an argument, Veronica repeated herself. “Well? Why are you avoiding me?”

“I haven’t been avoiding you, V,” Betty said with a soft smile. One that spoke of untold secrets and bittersweet memories. 

The confidence of her demeanor caught Veronica by surprise. She thought that she’d known everything about Betty Cooper, but perhaps there was something she’d missed. Something that, now when she thought on it, seemed to be much more crucial to Betty’s identity than fighting over any boy ever had.

Irritated by this new unknown, Veronica pouted and came far too close stomping her heel in frustration. “Then why haven’t you been sitting with me? We’ve sat together at lunch every day at school, and suddenly you decide to sit with those hot-rodders? And even Daddy’s noticed we haven’t talked on the phone in weeks. And now you’re showing up to school in pedal pushers of all things?”

She knew she sounded like a spoiled brat suddenly denied a toy long-since neglected, but she couldn’t help it. They’d never kept secrets from each other, and even when they were purposefully avoiding each other they’d hashed things out within a week. And if this was about Veronica parading about on Archie’s arm, then she’d do anything to make it right. 

Ever her best friend, Betty stepped forward and took Veronica’s hand in her own. “I miss you too Ronnie. And I’m not avoiding you. I’ve just -“ the pause was minute, but oh so telling, “- made new friends is all.”

Even if they hadn’t known each other their whole lives, even if Betty hadn’t been as easy to read as the phone book, Veronica still would have caught the Sputnik sized hesitation. There was something more than just Betty making friends with those Southside greasers who spent more time smoking behind the gym than in class. Veronica made a mental note to dig down on that later. What was important now was fixing whatever she’d broken between them.

“Friends are all well and good, Betty. But this is us we’re talking about. B and V. Riverdale’s iconic duo.”

Betty flinched ever so slightly when Veronica paired them together. The mood shifted between them, just as Betty had shifted her body away from Veronica’s as if to protect herself from a physical attack. Veronica had an inkling, she’d always wondered, but she'd always pushed those thoughts away for both their sake. Just like she had brushed aside so many other queer things when it came to Betty

“We’re good. I’m meeting other gear-heads, learning more than Dad’s ever taught me. Sweet Pea’s uncle wants to soup up a deuce with a bent-eight he’s been letting me work on. It’s a real cherry,” Betty said. Veronica could almost see the stars in her eyes as Betty spoke. 

Veronica held up a hand. She understood the words that were used, but still hadn’t a clue what Betty said. “You know I have absolutely no interest in such things, darling. But as long as you’re happy, I can’t complain.” She held out her pinky. “Promise that everything is peachy between us?”

Betty smiled and hooked her pinky around Veronica’s. “Peachy keen, jelly bean.”

And that was the end of that. 

Only, it wasn’t. Not really. A few more weeks passed, and while Veronica saw more of Betty than she had, they still weren’t like they had been. Betty’s attention wavered in conversation, and she was less likely to remember the little things they’d talked about. She was always rushing off somewhere to meet her new friends, always talking about what they’d said that was just ‘the most.’ Overall, Betty was less available.

The more and more Veronica thought about it, the more convinced she was that there could only be one reason for such a change in Betty. Only one explanation existed as to why Betty Cooper was so set on ditching her. It was simple, really, and Veronica could have kicked herself for not thinking about it sooner. 

The next time Betty sat at lunch with her, Veronica broached the subject as subtly as she could, all the while ignoring the glances of the greasers pretending to be burgeoning herpetologists sending curious glances their way. 

“On Friday we’re doubling with Archie and Reggie,” Veronica said as she picked at what the cafeteria claimed to be a ‘fruit salad’ despite the amount of gelatin surrounding said fruit. 

Betty paused in unpeeling the saran wrap that cocooned her Alice Cooper approved sandwich. “What? I don’t really want -“

“If this is about Archie,” Veronica let the question hang. 

She watched as Betty worried at her lip, her eyes cutting sideways as if she wanted to look behind her. “No, it doesn’t have anything to do with Archie.”

That proved it. Now, to confirm it. “If it is, you can tell me. I won’t be mad, that body of his is a real dream.”

Betty shook her head and peeled the plastic wrap apart. “It’s never been about Archie. And I can’t go on a date with Reggie,” she said softly.

Veronica leaned forward and rested her head on her hand. “Why not? He’s young, buff, and daft enough to be manipulated by a few fluttered eyelashes and a coy giggle here and there.” Betty didn’t respond, so Veronica pushed again. “What about Dilton instead? He’s no Gregory Peck, but he is smart enough to keep up with you, though he could certainly use a brush up with Emily Post.”

“They all nice boys,” Betty said slowly.

“I feel a ‘but’ ahead.”

“But I can’t date either of them.”

Bingo. She knew there was something else there between Betty and one of those bad news kids she’d been hanging around with. Too much whispering in the halls, too much social contact.

“I -“ Betty practically choked on the words. 

“You’ve been keeping secrets,” Veronica said, her words swaying. She looked over her shoulder at the table behind them. Jughead, never subtle, stared at them. At Betty’s panicked look, Veronica reached across and patted her hands. “Jughead isn’t who I’d have picked out for you, but so long as your happy I’ve no problem with him being the Tony to your Maria. He’s always at Pop’s anyway. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to double on Friday.”

xxxxx

“And that’s only what they’re telling us about Philadelphia Incident. One can only wonder what else they’re hiding from us,” Fangs said. He stabbed a chili fry with his fork as he geared up for his usual Friday night rant against what was happening with the government.

His rant was interrupted when Betty slid into the seat next to Jughead uninvited. She glanced over her shoulder, a move that sent her long blonde ponytail flying halfway across the table.

“Toni’s long gone, Cooper,” he said. 

Despite Toni vouching for her, Betty was still from the more white collar part of town. Betty’s parents didn’t work in the mills, and her sudden interest in Toni made him uneasy. Especially when her constant presence brought with it the attention of the football players on the other side of the diner. 

“I need a favor,” Betty said in a low voice. She glanced over her shoulder again, but Fangs didn’t see anything she should be afraid of.

Jughead, still nursing what Fangs had long-since deemed an ill-fated childhood crush, nodded. “Anything, Betts.”

She took a deep breath and looked up at him from under her eyelashes. “Veronica’s convinced we’re dating. And wants us to double with her and Archie tonight.”

“Me?” Jughead asked, his eyes wide. 

Fangs snorted, unsure of how that was a problem. Veronica might have been stuck up and snotty, but at least she’d never judged them on where they lived, only on what they wore to school. It wasn't as if it had been Cheryl asking them to double date.

“And how’s that a problem?” Fangs asked. He speared another fry and chewed on it, too amused to be upset at the interruption. 

“And Veronica’s the last person that needs to know we’re not.” Betty gestured between herself and Jughead.

Fangs and Jughead exchanged looks. While nothing could be made public, they knew enough about Toni to have connected the dots between her and Betty. Why else would they suddenly be so glued to the hip? And in this sleepy, backwards town their secret could be kept with a low profile, only to be passed off as a close, albeit unusual, friendship. Unless someone got wind of something they didn’t agree with, unless someone spilled the beans, no one would be the wiser. 

The most surprising thing, though, was that Betty had kept such a secret from her supposed best friend. It wasn’t a surprise Betty wouldn’t tell her sister or her parents, all three were wound tighter than the suit who kept the nuclear codes. But everyone, including Fangs, had assumed Betty and Veronica shared everything. Hell, they’d shared everything from clothes to makeup to Archie.

“What’s Toni think about this?” Jughead asked.

Betty winced. “She thinks it’s hilarious. When I told her she had to hang up the phone, she was laughing so hard. No offense, Jug.”

When it looked like Jughead was about to falter, Betty slipped a hand on Jughead’s arm. She fluttered those huge doe eyes of her, and Fangs knew the moment Jughead’s resolve slipped. 

Jughead nodded once, with a grimace more suited to a man standing in front of a firing squad. 

Betty’s face lit up and she wrapped her hand around his arm. “Thanks, Juggie. I owe you one.”

The bell above Pop’s door rang, bringing with it the full force of Veronica Lodge.

“There you are Betty, dear. I was afraid you two wouldn’t show,” Veronica said in that snake-oil voice she loved to use. 

“I’ve been here,” Betty said with a chuckle that under the neon lights of Pop’s was light and airy. Under a different light, Fangs would have called it nervous. “We’ve both been here. Ever since school let out.”

Fangs bit down on another fry to hold his amusement in. 

“Well, then, I suppose all we’re waiting on is Archie.” Veronica slipped off her gloves and set her clutch on the table. When Fangs didn’t move, she gave him a pointed look. “Well?”

Across the table, Betty mouthed ‘Sorry’ his way. Jughead had closed his eyes as if he was trying to will himself someplace else. With a nod, Fangs picked up his basket of fries and moved to the counter. When Pop’s passed him the next time, Fangs said to put it on Veronica’s tab.


End file.
